Tiger - Jeff Stone [48]
Fu pretended not to see the soldier and didn't flinch until the moment the soldier thrust his spear. Fu dropped the keys and twisted gracefully to his left side, lifting his right arm high as the spear tip breezed underneath his armpit. As the soldier withdrew the spear, Fu bent his right elbow and clamped it down as hard as he could on top of the spear shaft. Then he gripped the shaft with his right hand and jerked his body powerfully backward. The soldier was not rooted and lurched forward with the spear, smashing his head against the bamboo bars. Fu lunged forward himself, grabbing the man's long black hair with one hand between the bars. Fu shoved straight down as hard as he could. There was a sharp crack as the soldier's nose shattered against a large stone. Still conscious, the man ripped his head away from Fu and screamed as a fistful of his hair remained in Fu's hand. A chunk of scalp dangled from the clump of hair. Fu dropped it in the dirt and stared hard at the man. The man grabbed the hairy clump and ran away. Fu got back to work.
Fu grabbed the keys, unlocked the latch, and threw the door up. Then he grabbed the spear the soldier had left behind and headed for Malao. But after only two steps, he stopped dead in his tracks. He couldn't believe his eyes. Monkeys were pouring out of the trees, leaping directly onto the heads, backs, arms, and legs of the soldiers on top of Malao. In no time, there was an undulating pile of more than fifty monkeys, clawing, scratching, and biting in unison. The men cried out in pain as more and more monkeys joined the savage attack, all of them abandoning their previous scavenging in the food carts in order to help Malao.
Fu had no idea what was going on, but he wasn't about to get close enough to that pile to find out. Instead, he looked for the skinny soldier with the scrolls and spotted the man standing next to one of the supply carts staring open-mouthed at the monkey pile. Fu ran directly for him.
The soldier saw Fu coming and did his best to brace himself for the attack. He assumed a defensive position with his spear held before him, holding his ground as Fu started swinging. Fu feinted high and swung low with his own spear, bringing one end around behind the soldier's knees. The soldier's legs buckled forward, and before he even hit the ground, Fu swiftly pulled the spear back and swung it up over his head and down, as though he were chopping wood with an ax. The spear shaft connected with the soldier's unprotected collarbone. The spear was strong. The collarbone was not.
The soldier bellowed in pain as he crumpled to his knees. Fu slid one hand up his spear's shaft so that his hands were shoulder-width apart, then lunged forward with the spear before him, parallel to the ground. The shaft connected with the soldier's windpipe, and Fu leaned into it. The soldier toppled over backward as Fu hopped on top of the spear shaft, placing one knee on either side of the soldier's head, pinning the soldier to the ground by his throat. The soldier gasped for air. He was unsuccessful. As soon as the man was unconscious, Fu let up on the spear, spun around, and retrieved all four scrolls from the folds of the soldier's robe.
As he stood, Fu realized something. None of the remaining soldiers had come to aid the scroll-bearer. He looked around and saw that the screeching monkeys were now chasing all the soldiers off into the forest. Fu looked over at Malao and once again could hardly believe his own eyes.
Malao stood firm and straight as blood poured heavily out of both sides of his nose. He pointed at the fleeing soldiers with his arms outstretched, and the monkey troop pursued as if following orders. The five soldiers who had attacked Malao lay at his feet, their bodies scratched and clawed and broken. A large, snow-white, one-eyed monkey sat on Malao's shoulder.
Malao smiled at Fu and laughed out loud as he lowered his arms and relaxed. The monkey seemed to laugh, too. Then it